At my house, taking a nap is a weighty decision. That’s because I succumbed to the latest fad sweeping the internet and purchased a weighted blanket for our family room.
For the uninitiated, a weighted blanket is a quilt with beads sewn into the lining. The blankets come in different sizes, hefts and textures. You can buy them online at sites like MosaicWeightedBlanket.com, but most people I know purchase their weighted blankets from shops on the handmade-goods website, Etsy.com. I bought mine from an Etsy vendor named Donna Biron whose storefront is called MomentarilyMe.
Why would you want to add 15 pounds to your nap? Proponents say that weighted blankets promote a sense of well-being and combat insomnia. The idea isn’t that new, either. If you look at the water cure movement from the 1800s, practitioners like Dr. John Harvey Kellogg (the Corn Flakes guy) have advocated wrapping nervous people in blankets for centuries. Or think about how parents swaddle newborns up like burritos. It’s the same principle.
I’ve battled insomnia all my life, so I was curious if a weighted blanket would be a miracle cure. The blanket I ordered from MomentarilyMe is 48 by 72 inches and made out of soft, minky fabric. It weighs 15 pounds. At $175, this is the most expensive blanket I’ve ever bought. Since it was a custom order, the blanket took more than six weeks to arrive.
Being covered by the weighted blanket feels like being hugged. It’s like the universe is whispering to you: “Chill out. All is well.” We keep the blanket on the couch for napping, reading and watching television. It helps whoever is using it to relax. I can’t guarantee that it’s prevented sibling squabbles over the remote control, but it’s contributed peace and harmony to the downstairs.
When my husband travels for work, I bring the weighted blanket up to our room, so I can fall asleep right away instead of listening to the house creak. So, yes, the weighted blanket is useful for an insomniac like me.
However, there are drawbacks to weighted blankets besides the price. One of my friends who owned a weighted blanket got rid of hers because she said it felt like being smothered. If you have a body part that’s in pain, the extra weight can be a problem. Since a weighted blanket is essentially a thick quilt, it’s too hot for summer. It’s also a beast to clean. I put ours in the delicate cycle of the washing machine all by itself, and then spin it in the dryer on a low setting for over an hour.
In our house the biggest drawback with the weighted blanket is that everyone fights over who gets to use it. If I owned a sewing machine, I’d consider learning how to make them. That way we could have a weighted blanket on every bed.
Help the whole family fall asleep faster? Yes, please. That’s a trend worth following.
http://www.heraldnet.com/life/cuddle-up-with-the-latest-comfort-trend-a-weighted-blanket/
For the uninitiated, a weighted blanket is a quilt with beads sewn into the lining. The blankets come in different sizes, hefts and textures. You can buy them online at sites like MosaicWeightedBlanket.com, but most people I know purchase their weighted blankets from shops on the handmade-goods website, Etsy.com. I bought mine from an Etsy vendor named Donna Biron whose storefront is called MomentarilyMe.
Why would you want to add 15 pounds to your nap? Proponents say that weighted blankets promote a sense of well-being and combat insomnia. The idea isn’t that new, either. If you look at the water cure movement from the 1800s, practitioners like Dr. John Harvey Kellogg (the Corn Flakes guy) have advocated wrapping nervous people in blankets for centuries. Or think about how parents swaddle newborns up like burritos. It’s the same principle.
I’ve battled insomnia all my life, so I was curious if a weighted blanket would be a miracle cure. The blanket I ordered from MomentarilyMe is 48 by 72 inches and made out of soft, minky fabric. It weighs 15 pounds. At $175, this is the most expensive blanket I’ve ever bought. Since it was a custom order, the blanket took more than six weeks to arrive.
Being covered by the weighted blanket feels like being hugged. It’s like the universe is whispering to you: “Chill out. All is well.” We keep the blanket on the couch for napping, reading and watching television. It helps whoever is using it to relax. I can’t guarantee that it’s prevented sibling squabbles over the remote control, but it’s contributed peace and harmony to the downstairs.
When my husband travels for work, I bring the weighted blanket up to our room, so I can fall asleep right away instead of listening to the house creak. So, yes, the weighted blanket is useful for an insomniac like me.
However, there are drawbacks to weighted blankets besides the price. One of my friends who owned a weighted blanket got rid of hers because she said it felt like being smothered. If you have a body part that’s in pain, the extra weight can be a problem. Since a weighted blanket is essentially a thick quilt, it’s too hot for summer. It’s also a beast to clean. I put ours in the delicate cycle of the washing machine all by itself, and then spin it in the dryer on a low setting for over an hour.
In our house the biggest drawback with the weighted blanket is that everyone fights over who gets to use it. If I owned a sewing machine, I’d consider learning how to make them. That way we could have a weighted blanket on every bed.
Help the whole family fall asleep faster? Yes, please. That’s a trend worth following.
http://www.heraldnet.com/life/cuddle-up-with-the-latest-comfort-trend-a-weighted-blanket/
No comments:
Post a Comment